Not 'Those'
by someone-lost
Summary: The Lone Wanderer gets more work than she bargained for when she agrees to help a desperate eight year old boy find his father in the town of Grayditch. One-shot.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Fallout 3.**

Having traveled all over Capital Wasteland for several months, Tabitha felt confident that she could handle almost anything. She had taken on an entire army of Super Mutants single handedly more times than she could count, scoured the underground tunnels of feral Ghouls, and even disarmed the once active atomic bomb that sat in the middle of the bustling city Megaton. She had come a long way from the Vault dweller she used to be and was damn proud of the skills she had acquired along her journey. This, however, was a bit beyond her comfort zone.

"Giant fucking ants that breathe fire," she muttered darkly. "This really isn't my day." The young woman stood on the outskirts of the abandoned city Grayditch with a rifle slung over her shoulder and tinted glasses shielding her blue eyes from the sun. She wore a pair of form fitting pants and long sleeved shirt with her feet shoved into knee high boots, all varying shades of brown. The corners of the cloak she wore blew slightly in the wind along with a couple of strands of red hair that managed to escape the leather band at the base of her neck.

She brushed the strands behind her ear and sighed before starting the long trek down the rocky hill. Once she was near the base of the hill she leapt down the remaining distance and landed with a small stumble, causing a blush to stain her otherwise pale cheeks. She gave an embarrassed cough and straightened her cloak before continuing further into the town. After traveling a few blocks the Lone Wanderer began to wonder if that kid had been yanking her chain when he had said fire ants had overtaken the town. Other than the sound her boots crunching on the dirt and debris she had heard nothing out of the ordinary. _I don't know whether to be relieved or worried_, she thought, but un-holstered the 9mm handguns at her side just in case. _Gotta find the diner._

The kid she had been talking to had told her that his house was near an old diner and that his father should still be there. Experience told her that it was unlikely the man was still alive, but she had been unable to tell that to the kid. _Bob? Billy ? Billy Wilkins? Fuck it. He's still just a kid. He shouldn't have to deal with something like that so young. _Looking back on it, though, she wondered if he had already known. There was a sadness to the boy's eyes that spoke volumes more than what he was willing to say. _He knows…Then why even bother in the first place_? _The longer you deny something the harder it becomes to deal with when it can't be denied any longer_.

Still, she could relate to the boy in a way. She too was searching for her father, savoring any scrap of information she could uncover and chasing his shadow from one hellhole to the next. _Dangerous territory,_ she mused and shook her head in an attempt to chase away the thoughts. According to her Pip-Boy a half an hour had already passed since her ungraceful entrance into the town, yet, she hadn't crossed one fire ant._ Maybe they moved on to another town. I certainly don't see the appeal of this dump_. Still, if there were no threats the Raiders definitely would have set up camp and being that wasn't the case, something must be scaring them off.

Somehow she didn't think she was as alone as it appeared and the red head had learned early on that it was better to rely on instinct than anything else because she couldn't afford to trust anything else. Better to die of her own idiocy than anyone else's. _Maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to zip through this mission without having to fight any of those fire breathing freaks. I'll find the kid's dad, dead or alive, and collect my fee hassle free._ Just thinking about those alien like eyes, creepy feelers, and hard bodies made Tabitha shiver. _Give me an army of Super Mutants any day_.  
Her thoughts were so preoccupied with happy thoughts such as ripping the arm off of a feral ghoul or bashing the skull of a Super Mutant wide open that she jumped a foot when the sound of a door creaking open shattered the familiar silence. Her guns were up in a heartbeat and trained toward the open doorway, her eyes searching for any threat. Several seconds of passed before she was satisfied that there was no immediate threat and she relaxed her stance to move towards the house in a few quick strides.

A thorough sweep of the first floor provided nothing useful for the Lone Wanderer, but when she reached the stairs she wondered if the smell of smoke was just her imagination or if something was actually burning. When she reached the second floor she got her answer. A small fire burned at the base of the walls and a slight haze of smoke made it difficult for her to breathe. She held up a hand and took slow breathes as she approached the first of three doors that lined the right side. Tabitha cautiously opened the door, peeked around its frame, then entered when she saw that it was only an empty bedroom. A ripped mattress lay in the far corner, a dirty blanket thrown carelessly on top, and trash littered the floor. There was nothing salvageable left so she left the room and moved on to the next. The door was locked.

"Might as well try out my lock picking skill," she muttered excitedly and produced the necessary items from her Pip-Boy. The young woman had recently taken a security course that had provided her with an extensive knowledge of computer terminals and traditional door locks. If she was completely honest with herself she would admit that the computer portion of the lesson had been so boring she only listened with half an ear as the man explained the various ins and outs of hacking. The course had been a grueling hour long and had cost her five hundred caps to attend, but it had been worth it. _Even if the guy acted a bit… weird, I'm sure I'll never run into a lock I can't pick ever again_, she thought smugly. Really, it had been a wise investment. Funnily enough, though, Simms hadn't seen it like that. Hell, he had been more amused than anything else.

"You mean to tell me that you paid five hundred caps just to listen to some old guy talk? Hell, how much do you owe me then?"  
"At least he had something useful and interesting to say," she had retorted which made the older man laugh.  
"Yeah, I can see how the schematics of a photonic resonation chamber would be interesting kid." She looked up at him uneasily.  
"Were we supposed to cover that?" All she got was a raised eyebrow for an answer.

The bobby pin in her hand snapped, the eighth one, and she let out a frustrated shriek. Tabitha threw the blue screwdriver onto the floor and stomped once, twice on the offending item then glared hatefully at the door. A small smirk grew on her face as an idea came to mind.

"Should've just done this in the first place," she muttered and planted a boot firmly beside the door knob. She reared back, gave it a hard kick, and watched her foot rip through the door like it was paper. Grinning like a fool she attempted to pull her foot free, expecting it to come out as easily as it had gone in, but was unpleasantly surprised when it refused to budge. "What the-?" Something bumped at her leg and sent a chill down her spine. A long, rope like _thing_ wrapped around her ankle and pulled with enough strength that the rest of her leg was sucked painfully inside.

The Lone Wanderer reacted by grabbing her handguns and unloading both magazines at whatever the hell was trying to eat her. The creature gave an ear shattering shriek and loosened its hold on the young woman's foot just as she threw herself backwards onto the floor. Luckily she still had a foot to pull out; unluckily a very pissed off four hundred pound Fire Ant crashed through the door and almost crushed her.

She wasted no time in scrambling to her feet and stumbling back down the stairs to the front door. _Screw the kid and screw the money! I'm getting the fuck outta here!_ Once she was safely outside, Tabitha took a sharp left and sprinted down the beaten road towards what she hoped was a way out. Tap, tap, tap, tap. She could hear the fucking thing marching steadily behind her, winced as it released another shriek, and pushed herself even harder.

_Re-enforcements,_ she thought giddily as abnormally large ants began to emerge from seemingly everywhere. They appeared from houses, around street corners, and even climbed down the rocky hillsides. For a brief moment she wondered what the humiliation would be like to die of ants. Did they have teeth, or would she be burned to a crisp before she could blink? She could just hear Three-Dog now.

"And in other news, the Lone Wanderer was found being screwed in the ass by a large ant in the streets of Grayditch, dead…" Oh, God, and if her father heard it? She shook those thoughts away and tried to concentrate more on her surroundings than probable death. The red head turned a corner, barely escaping the large blast of fire chasing her, and racked her brain for any piece of information about the creatures. _What was it the kid had said? Damnit, come on, remember! _

Truth be told Tabitha hadn't really been paying that much attention to the boy, she was too busy mentally making fun of his accent, and now she was paying for it. _Something about the antennae, right? Shoot the antennae. _Still running, she holstered her handguns and equipped her trusty Hunting Rifle instead. She risked a glance back, saw an ant about half a block back, and stopped to take aim. As soon as she lifted the scope to her eye time seemed to slow, every detail came into perfect view from the creature's ink black eyes to its wide pinchers.

On an exhale, the Lone Wanderer fired what she considered to be a perfect shot. The Fire Ant's head exploded from the neck and the force sent the head rolling to stop a few yards away from her. She fingered the reloading switch and in one quick movement fired another head shot at another rapidly approaching ant.

"Stubborn bitch," she muttered as the ant only stumbled once and then continued on as if nothing had happened. One last shot took care of it, though, and sent another shower of blood spewing from its neck. Tabitha grinned and looked up from the scope to check out how many more were left. Calm blue eyes counted one, two, three,… four, five, six, seven… _What!? _"W-Where the hell are they coming from?" she wondered aloud and then promptly ran in the other direction.

She mentally counted how many shots she had left in her rifle and paled even more at the reality of her situation. _I didn't stop at Megaton for supplies because I thought this would be an easy in and out thing… Find the house, find the dad, and collect the money. _Of course, when mutant Fire Ants are thrown into the mix, some things are bound to be screwed up.

Her spirits soared, though, when she spotted something shiny off in the distance. _A Preservation Shelter!_ Just the thought of waiting in the nearly indestructible device made her heart soar and steps lighter. The ants seemed to know what was happening, either that or fate was just a cruel bitch, because they doubled their speed and efforts. Tabitha dodged streams of fire, ran through what couldn't be avoided, and practically cried with joy when she finally reached the shelter. Her palm slammed against the button and the door opened to reveal a familiar looking boy with blond hair and wearing dirty overalls. His eyes widened at the approaching army of ants.

"Wha-?" The Lone Wanderer shoved the surprised boy against the wall and stuffed herself inside along side him, the metal door sliding shut behind her.

"Heh, so..." Tabitha was at a loss as to what to say so she just leaned against the wall and stared at the floor, completely ignoring the sound of the shrieking ants on the other side.

"...Did you find my Dad?"

"Ah, not yet." She sighed. "You wouldn't happen to have any rifle ammo would you Billy?"

"Bryan. My name is Bryan! How many times do I have to tell you?!"

She glared at him. "Whatever. Do you or not?"

"What would I do with rifle ammo? Does it look like I have a gun?"

"You don't have to be an ass about it," Tabitha muttered and slid down to the floor. An awkward silence ensued.

Bryan settled himself on the ground and stared thoughtfully at the door. Finally, he turned curious eyes onto the young woman beside him. He grabbed a hose shaped object and shoved the item under her nose.

"Do _you _know what this hose is for?" Tabitha merely tilted her head to the sky in defeat._ Why me?_

  
Author's Note: When Bryan Wilks is hiding in the Preservation Shelter he can be heard saying something along the lines of, "I wonder what this hose is for..." so I kinda just shoved it into the story. I believe the hose is used to remove bodily waste material (I.e crap) so having it shoved under your nose would be most unpleasant. ^-^;


End file.
